The Bane School of Magic
by ascreamingstrawberry
Summary: Alec had not one idea how to raise a daughter, let alone a warlock one at that. He takes Madzie to The Bane School of Magic and dubs it very beneficial, to her of course, and definitely not himself. In no way could the enchanting caramel skinned teacher be in any way of use to him.
1. Chapter 1

Alec didn't know the first thing about raising a child, regardless of the act that that very child was a warlock. In his fresh twenty one years of life, he knew a lot of things about different kinds of stuff (like the history of his blood or the easiest way to kill an Elapid demon) but there were only three things that he knew right now. The first thing was that the sleeping girl in his arms had been tortured, hurt, felt hopeless, all before the age of three. In second, despite all that, she was still breathing evenly and sleeping almost peacefully in his large Shadowhunter arms that looked like they could suffocate her. And lastly, he would do absolutely anything in his power to make sure little Madzie felt safe, loved, and cared for for every minutes of the rest of her life.

The first few months had been very hard with all the constant bickering with the Clave, his own mother, even Jace at own point. The only one who seemed to not have some kind of "advice" on what he should do with Madzie instead of "wasting his life away on a warlock child" was his sister. She absolutely adored Madzie, and the feeling seemed to be mutual, where Alec would come back to his and his siblings personal hall (requested back when all that mess with Clary and Valentine was going on) to find the two giggling about whatever girls giggle about. To be honest it was just nice to hear Madzie laugh, since she hadn't been very happy since Alec took her in.

He remembered the fear in her eyes from that day, at him, at the man who was not saving a orphan from her abuser but instead to her he was the man that was taking her away from her Nana. The only place and person she had ever known, the place that had raised her despite raising her through hell and bruises on her arms and shame in her gills. He had been calm, kneeling down to wait for her to walk toward him, letting her see that he wasn't going to hurt her. From that moment, the moment where that little girl had put her heart and trust in him, she was always at his side. She was hesitant to Jace and she didn't like Maryse even after the woman accepted that the warlock would be her granddaughter and was just happy to have a grandchild. But Izzy she just seemed to click with, maybe because Izzy had been the first person she had seen before Alec, the one who had killed the demon attacking Madzie's at the tie stand in nanny.

But almost a year later, Madzie was beaming. She talked a little more, she appeared to be quiet even before all of what happened so Alec didn't take her reserved nature for anything a matter of concern. She smiled at the familiar faces of the Institute as they pass and say hello, she let Maryse and Izzy take her shopping just last weekend, and she had even given Clary a drawing of Alec. Although the yellow skin was a bit unflattering if he did say so himself.

It wasn't until this morning that Alec had even remembered the part of Madzie that he had been so fearfully avoiding, her magic. She was a warlock after all, and you'd think with everyone in his life reminding him of that he wouldn't avoid it. It wasn't because he was scared of her or her abilities, and he certainly wasn't prejudice against that side of her, her gills made her apart of who she was. No, in all reality he was scared that he wouldn't be able to give her what she needed, the skill set or the teachings on how to use it, and she would want someone else to take of her. Someone more fitted to take care of a young, very powerful, warlock and definitely not a barely young adult Shadowhunter whose only experience with warlocks had been textbooks.

But this morning when her bedroom TV turned on with the volume too high and her nervous jump shook the entire house, large golden waves of magic had bursted through the Institute knocking out every computer system they had for a solid 30 seconds before the backup generators kicked in. That's when his mother, surprisingly, explained that he might want to send her to a Downworld school to teach her how to control her "impulses".

That's how he ended up outside Hotel Du Mort, knocking politely actually hoping for Simon to come and speak to him. The only three Downworlders he knew personally were Luke Garroway (who was on a vacation with Clary's mother at the current moment), Raphael, and Simon. The likelihood of finding either vampire at the hotel was high, but for some odd, inexplicable reason he hopped to see the latter this time around.

He was let in and he had barely even put one foot in the goddamn door before Simon had started running his mouth. "Hey Alec, how are you? What are you doing here, I didn't know that you'd be stopping by. What can I do for you? Is Izzy okay? Is Clary-"

"Simon please just stop talking." Alec said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry." Simon said.

"Look, I need some advice. Do you or Raphael know about any schools for Warlocks?" Alec said, quick and straight to the point, something Simon isn't very good at.

"Warlocks? You mean like for Madzie? How is she? Probably a bit low on the voodoo, huh? Anyway, I think I can like, actually help you out there. There's this guy that comes in every couple of weeks, to do like double checking on wards and stuff, sometimes he helps Raphael on things. Not sure really what though, I think they go back you know, they might be old immortal pals or something. But yeah he definitely mentioned a school once though, I talked to him he's nice enough." Simon was walking around aimlessly as he rambled.

"What's his name?" Alec asked, exasperated already without having been there more than ten minutes.

"I think it was Michael or something, I'm not sure, but he's easy on the eyes that guy. If you like that kind of thing, that is, easy. Not that he's easy, he's actually kinda tough skinned, he wears a lot of glitter though-" Simon would continue on like this for an hour if Alec didn't put him and himself out of their miseries by interrupting him.

"Simon." Alec growled getting the vampire's attention. "His name."

Simon clapped, as if he had an epiphany and then he laughed. "That's right. His name. His name was uh, oh yeah, Magnus Bane."

"Thank you." He said turning around and walking out the door ignoring Simon's goodbye as he slammed the door behind him. He had enough of rambling vampires for a whole year, let alone this day, and he would hopefully spend his night reading up on this Bane guy.


	2. Chapter 2

"Magnus Bane." Isabelle said, pausing for a moment to let the name run over her tongue. Then she turned to the computer, searching his name into the top bar. "Sounds magical."

"He is a warlock." Alec said, rolling his eyes. His sister reached over and gave him a rough elbow to the shoulder for that, before turning to look at him.

"So, did Simon say anything else?" Izzy asked, and a big brother would have to be blind to ignore that dazed look in her eyes.

"Yeah, he started talking about this hot dark haired Shadowhunter that he was totally in love I mean, the guy doesn't shut up about her." Alec's smile included the tip of his tongue playfully resting in between his teeth as he watched the blush form over his sister's face.

"I meant about the school, jerk." She said turning back to the computer as if to hide her fluster from him, which she's never been able to do.

"No." He said, sitting down on the desk she was sat at. "Although, I hope it all works out because I don't know how much longer Madzie can take."

"You mean how much longer you can take." Izzy said quickly.

"What? No? I love Madzie, and she's-" Alec started nervously, a million thoughts running through his head about his sister was going to tell him that he wasn't the right fit for Madzie,and she was going to need someone else.

"Alec, shut up. Not you, your head. I can almost hear how nervous your thoughts are and that's not what I meant. I meant how much longer you can take feeling like that. Like you're not enough for her. Once you get her into a school where she can learn those kind of things then you'll finally start feeling like you're doing something right by her. Which you always are." Izzy always knew just what to say to calm him down.

"Thanks Iz." He mumbled, casting his look down to his shoes.

"Look." She said. "I found the number of the teacher. Let's call him." She said reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. She started to dial the number from the computer.

"Wait Iz. Stop. You can't just-" He started to say before the phone answered and his sister held it up to his ear to talk to the other person on the phone. Alec tensed up, not ready for confronting this. Madzie's teacher, or maybe someone to be her teacher, and her magic.

"Hello?" The voice was not what he was expecting. It was young, like maybe thirties, then again this Magnus Bane was a warlock so it was closer to centuries. It was warm, like when Alec was upset when he was little and his mother would make him a steaming cup of tea to shake him out of his funk. He was so taken over by the sound,quickly becoming the other thought in his head, that he was sure ten or so minutes had passed before he attempted to answer.

"Uh." Was all that came out, and he turned to his sister as if silently asking her to save him from the overwhelming awkwardness.

Isabelle reached over and took the phone from her brother before he completely embarrassed himself and her. "Hello, Magnus Bane. This is Isabelle, and I would like to inquire about enrolling my niece to your magic school."

"Your niece is a warlock, correct? The title often attracts other forms of magic, like Seelies, to my door and as intelligent as I am, I couldn't possibly provide an extensive education to all Downworlders. However, I can recommend a dozen fabulous tutors for those of that sort. " Alec heard the voice on the other line say.

"While Madzie is indeed a warlock, my brother and I are not, I hope that doesn't make it a problem for you or your other students." Isabelle replied promptly.

"Not at all. Madzie, is it? Yes, can she and her guardians stop by early for school Monday morning? That way I can get to know her and her skills before throwing her in with the rest of class." He asked, and Isabelle nodded along motioning to Alec to fetch some paper and pen to write it down. He picked up a sharpie that was next to him on the desk but for the love of the Angel couldn't find paper anywhere.

"Yes of course. And the address to this lovely school of yours is?" Isabelle asked, putting the man on speaker phone. Alec seemed so caught up into listening to the man speak that he nearly forget to listen to what he was saying. Isabelle huffed, reaching over and writing out the address on her brother's arm before taking the phone back to her ear.

"Thank you so much, say 8:30 on Monday?" Isabelle asked.

"Class starts at 9, so maybe 8 o'clock that way we can talk before the rest of the little rascals get there." He laughed as Isabelle agreed and then hung up. Isabelle turned to her brother to scan over th starry look about him before opening her mouth.

"Don't." Alec held his finger up to her and nearly covered his blush as Isabelle closed her mouth again. But not before leaving a smirk there and patting his shoulder as he thought over what just happened.

He didn't have long, as the sound of small feet running through the Institute brought his attention to his daughter charging at him with a big smile on her face while Simon helplessly called after her. Madzie ran into his arms, hugging him close against her as she whispered 'Daddy.'

"Sorry, Alec. I guess movie night got her all ramped up." Simon laughed.

"What did you watch, sweetheart?" Alec asked.

"Tiana." Madzie said, as Alec rose an eyebrow trying to remember which one that was from.

"The Princess and the Frog." Simon offered.

"Again?" Alec smiled, as Jace and Clary approached from behind Simon. His brother knelt down and ran a hand over the top of Madzie's hair.

"It's her favorite." Jace said.

"The people look like me." Madzie said quietly, and Alec nodded. He wasn't afraid to admit that Madzie was isolated from everyone around of her in a lot of ways. She had gills while the rest of them had runes, she was a young warlock surrounded by a bunch of adult Shadowhunters, and she was black. While Alec's family had it's Hispanic backgrounds, he himself didn't reflect it as much as his sister.

"How did the looking go?" Clary asked.

"Well Madz, you'll be excited to know, that there are going to be a ton of people like you at your new school." Alec said, clapping his hands excitedly.

"School?" She asked.

"It's a place where you go to learn." Simon says.

"And make friends." Clary adds, sending a playful look Simon's way.

"There, you'll learn a ton of stuff about being a warlock. And meet a ton of warlock friends." Alec said, and everyone nodded along with it.

"Will you be there with me?" She asks quietly, looking down at her toes.

"Not all day. But I will be dropping you off and picking you up, always there to bring you your lunch if you forget it." Alec said, pulling her back in for a hug while jokingly tickling at the sides of her back. He loved listening to her little giggle as she pleaded with him to stop through the hiccups of laughter.

"The rest of the time, you'll be with your new warlock teacher." Jace replied.

"What's their name?" Madzie asked, pulling back with a smile.

"His name is Magnus Bane." Alec said.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday Madzie was a mess, a good kind of mess though. She was bouncing up and down with excitement, little spurts of magic flaring up at different points from the tips of her fingertips. She nearly set a practice stick on fire. The only one who had been able to calm her down all day was Maryse.

She had been excited about school, and her grandmother visiting just added to that. But at the first spark, Alec thought Maryse was going to yell at her but she simply put her hand on Madzie's shoulder and knelt down to her level. "Madzie, darling, you need to learn to control yourself."

"Mother." Alec said, warning her to tread down that path carefully. He loved his mother but he was not about to let her say something that might hurt Madzie's feelings in any way.

"What if you had hurt someone, sweetheart? Now I know you're still little and you're very excited, but you're a Lightwood. And do you know what being a Lightwood means?" Maryse asked, and Madzie shook her small head in the form of 'no.'

"Being a Lightwood means that you're the most important person in the room, and in order to be that, you have to be in control. So take a deep breath, first. And then tell me all about this new school of yours." Maryse said, running a hand through the part of Madzie's hair that wasn't in a braid. Madzie did what her grandmother asked, she took a deep breath, and then calmly started telling her all the things Aunt Izzy said about Magnus Bane's school.

After a couple minutes she asked to be excused to play with Max, and the two adults nodded, being grateful for a moment to talk. "Where did you learn that, mother?"

"I've been reading." Maryse said, and Alec raised an eyebrow. "Really. She's my granddaughter, Alec, I care about her very much. I want to do as much as I can to make her happy. That's why I think school will be good for her."

"Even if it's a warlock school?" Alec asked.

"Yes." Maryse replied.

Monday morning when they arrived at the school in a van provided by the Institute, the library on 47th street looked like it hadn't been touched it years. The walls were practically caving in, and without encouragement from his mother, he wouldn't have taken Madzie in. As soon as they stepped through the door, it changed. The dust-gravel covered walls turned green and blue with brown tapestries hanging everywhere. The bookshelves revealed themselves as oak that looked almost brand new. The lighting changed, and one or two walking in were revealed as the glamour dropped from it.

"Wow." Madzie said, her small eyes taking in everything there was to see. And there was a lot. This Magnus Bane guy must have been a hoarder because there had to be at least 1,000 if not more books here.

"Wow indeed little one." Alec said.

"Look at all the books, Madzie." Maryse said, pointing to the bookshelves. Madzie nodded, then slapped herself in the head in surprise and turned around and started tugging on Alec's jacket.

"Books. Daddy, I left the schoolbooks we brought in the car. Can you grab them?" She asked, the nervous tears nearly welling up in her eyes. Alec nodded, turning around to dash outside calling back something about waiting for him. But after barreling through the door another family, a mother and a son came in. The boy had a light orange skin tone, barely noticeable, and his mother's was darker.

"Mom. Look." The boy pointed. "Shadowhunters."

The name hissed off his tongue in a way that made Maryse pull Madzie a little closer to her. Madzie looked up, sensing something wrong in her grandmother and got concerned in the way Maryse stared at the little boy. Then, as silent as the night, a glamour dropped and Magnus Bane stood in the middle of the two families. He knelt down in front of the boy, obviously not fazed by Magnus' entrance in the slightest, and lowered the boy's hand.

"It's not nice to point." Magnus said. "Now hurry along."

The boy said goodbye to his mother and ran to the back. There appeared to be a classroom of sorts, there wasn't any desks but there were pillows set up in a semi circle, and it wasn't like warlock spells included a lot of paperwork anyway. Magnus turned to face the Shadowhunters with a slight smirk.

"Maryse Lightwood. How good to see you again." He said, smirking at her.

"You as well, Mr Bane." She replied.

"Please call me Magnus." He said. The awkward air started to settle in around them to the point where even Madzie tugged on Isabelle's sleeve to get her to say something.

"Magnus, hi. I'm Isabelle. We spoke on the phone, I'm Madzie's aunt." Isabelle said reaching out to shake Magnus' hand. Magnus leaned down to kiss the top of her knuckles before pulling away and smiling at her.

"You're more beautiful in person than you are on the phone, Miss Isabelle. Tell me, do I have Madzie's mother or father here with me today?" Magnus asked, looking around her to the third party that had been standing behind them all patient and quiet. Jace hadn't spoken a word, he normally didn't have much to say around Madzie unless they were talking about movies or something, and in times like this he felt kind of more like an outsider.

"I'm Madzie's uncle, Jace." He said, nodding at the man.

"Alec, her father, should be-" Maryse turned around as a loud thud came from behind them. Everyone turned to look as Alec tripped over the rug at the entrance and gracefully, not, fell flat on his face. Madzie's books fell next to him with a slightly smaller thud, but the Lightwoods rushed over to their clumsy son and Magnus followed, kneeling down and offering a hand to the man.

"You alright, Mr. Lightwood?" Magnus asked, and as the head came off the ground he saw the most beautiful eyes that that he had ever seen. They were hazel, with little bits of green around the edges and if he looked long enough he could see small specs of crimson. The face around them was equally exquisite, and Magnus stopped for a minute as he took in the man on the floor in front of him. His eyes scanned downward to pink lips, and further to his muscular rune drawn chest until he couldn't see anymore. He nearly drooled.

Alec wasn't any better off. Magnus was the most interesting looking character he had ever laid eyes upon. His light pink eye shadow was the first thing that drew him in, but his yellow cat eyes are what kept him there, they were intoxicating like little swirls of sunshine. Magnus' hair looked so soft, even though there's was probably a lot of product in it because no one could naturally look this good (although Magnus was coming close).

"Yeah, sorry." Alec finally mumbled, taking the hand that was offered to him and pulling himself up with it. "Guess you could say I was falling at your doorstep."

Magnus snickered, a blush slowly creeping over his face as he watched Maryse Lightwood turn beat read and turned her attention to the books on the wall. Thankfully, a young woman came up and tapped Magnus' shoulder.

"Mags. I have the paperwork for the new kid." She said, handing over a clipboard. Magnus nodded, grateful for the distraction.

"Yes, thank you. Lightwoods, this is my assistant Azalea. She helps a lot with some of the kids around here, cause even the High Warlock of Brooklyn doesn't have more than one set of eyes. Well I could probably get another pair if I wanted. But then-" Magnus was rambling. He cut off mid-sentence because he had never acquired such a trait, and his fingers slowly covered over his mouth to stop himself from further embarrassment.

"I'm going to walk you through some of the paperwork while Magnus helps Madzie with her performance test. So, why don't you four follow me to Magnus' office?" Azalea said, takigng the clipboard back after he scribbled something that Alec assumed was his signature on it, and she started in the direction of the room to the left of where they were now.

"Wait!" A little voice came from Madzie, her first words since they had been introduced to her new teacher.

"What is it, sweet pea?" Magnus asked.

"Can Daddy come?" Madzie asked, looking up at her father with hopeful eyes. Alec had told her that he wouldn't be there during her schooling but he didn't tell her how much that was going to kill him having his days normally filled with such bubbly curly haired joy were going to spent waiting for that joy to come home.

"Of course. As long as he is quiet." Magnus winked at him and Alec wondered if this man would ever let his blush go away.

"Daddy's very quiet." Madzie said, tugging on her father's hand as she followed Magnus into the backroom. Yep, a blush the whole day will do.

Magnus' office was very small, nothing more than a desk and a couple chairs, so Jace was leaning against the wall of the door being the perfect gentlemen and giving up the two chairs to his mother and sister. Azalea sat on the other side of the desk, leaning over it with a pencil that had the tip colored blue in one hand and the other was tapping lightly against the desk. She was young, no more than sixteen, and she dressed nothing like her boss. While Jace had been thrown back by Magnus' loud attire, she was dressed more casually. She had auburn hair that was kept back by her denim snap back that was set backwards on her head, the khaki colored brim had a small white line along the underside of it. The hat wasn't the only blue fabric she was sporting, her washed denim jeans contrasted with her black sneakers with the white t-shirt she was wearing.

It made the three Shadowhunters dressed in all black seem very dark. "Does Madzie have a warlock mark?" had been the first question.

"Yes, gills, on the left side of her neck." Maryse replied.

"So, Mrs Lightwood. You're Madzie's adoptive grandmother?" Azalea asked. "What do we know about her birth family?"

"Her father was a demon, and her mother was a mortal who soon died after giving birth to her. She was raised by a fellow warlock for the first few years of her life, but we're sure there was evidence of abuse." Maryse replied.

"How's her home life, now? Does she have a steady support system?" Azalea asked.

"Yes. Madzie stays at the Institute with us. She has my brother, me, Jace, our parents, and our two friends who all love and care for her very much." Isabelle replied.

"That's good. A good support system is essential for children to fully develop into their potential. Are any of the people in her support system Downworlders?" Azalea asked, taking the tip of her pencil and twisting it around in her teeth.

"My boyfriend is a vampire." Isabelle replied.

"What about warlocks?" Azalea asked.

"No." Jace chimed in.

"Not a surprise." Azalea said scribbling down something. "The Clave doesn't really care all that much when it comes to warlocks, no offense."

"No offense," Jace said, moving closer to the desk to lean over the back of Isabelle's chair. "But what would you know about the Clave?"

"The Bane School of Magic likes to make sure every student is in the hands of caretakers who care for them and can provide for them." Azalea said, enraging Maryse and she stood up throwing her hands in the air.

"I will not let my granddaughter attend a school where she will discriminated against because of the household she comes from." She spouted before Azalea stood up in response, grabbing her clipboard and walking around the desk to the middle of the room.

And that's when they saw it, clear as day. As if it had been there all long, the thick black lines sticking out along her warm ivory colored skin,. She only had the one laying on her right wrist, the very first one they all got. The Shadowhunter rune.

"We're all finished. And for the record, Magnus Bane has never discriminated against anyone for anything. The Clave, however, is not been so open minded." She said, holding her arm out to show them the door. They followed her out back into the main room, as she started towards the back classroom where they could see Madzie running away from Alec and Magnus with a smile on her face.

"But if you're a Shadowhunter-" Isabelle said, but Azalea raised her hand cutting her off as a small spurt of green magic whisked towards the office door and closed it.

"Like I said," She shrugged. "The Clave doesn't really care that much about warlocks."

Magnus took the pair to his classroom in the back. Only a couple of students were there so he had started them on their reading assignment about a herbal potion for when the color changing spell on a person gets stuck. He sat Madzie down in front of him, and had Alec stand sit next to him in front of her.

"Okay Madzie, first we are going to get a connection with our magic that way we can see just how much power we have from it. So first I'm going to have you close your eyes." Magnus's voice got lost in Alec's ears as he watched his daughter. Her brow was furrowed in concentration at the task at her, her dark brown eyes fluttering shut as her teacher told her to do so. The excitement in her seemed to drizzle out as she sat quiet and focused listening to her teacher.

Magnus was in a similar position, his eyes closed shut keeping the world from looking at those attention drawing cat eyes of his. His head was leaned a little upward, but he kept his voice low letting Madzie tune everything else but his voice out. His hands were in his lap, his legs folded over in a crisscross as he took deep breaths in and out.

The sight made Alec feel sleepy, or more or so just utterly relaxed. They sat there for a few moments that felt like hours with just Alec watching them and the two warlocks tuning their selves into their magic. Soon, small golden sparks were dancing at the edge of Madzie's fingertips and if Alec had looked over he would have noticed very similar blue ones on the edge of Magnus'. At the feeling, Madzie opened her eyes and like well, magic, Magnus opened his at the very same time. He smiled, causing her to smile back at him.

"Can you feel that, Madzie? That's you. That's your magic, doesn't it feel nice to be in control of it, to know what it's going to do? And if you reach out far enough you could feel mine as well." He said, and Madzie closed her eyes again focusing on something again. Alec watched as small golden waves wrapped around him, and Magnus, and he felt a cold rough push until he and his daughter were knee to knee. Magnus was right next to them, with a surprised look on his face.

"Okay, sweet pea." He said, standing up as the golden waves disappeared from around him. "Don't want to tire yourself out before class."

"Yeah kiddo. Why don't you go try to make some new friends?" Alec said, his voice sing songy as if he had been the one just meditating.

"See you later, Daddy." She said, throwing her arms around his shoulders before turning to run over to the small group of students that had slowly started to get bigger as parents dropped off their children for school that morning.

Magnus held out his hand for the second time that morning, and Alec smiled as he used it again to pull himself upward. "Thanks."

"Your daughter is remarkable, most students her age barely get through the meditation before they're tired or they lose focus." Magnus said, shaking his head in disbelief as he turned to watch Madzie talk with another student.

"Yeah, she is." Alec said, smiling down at his shoes. A comfortable silence surrounded them for a few moments before Azalea cleared her throat and came in handing Magnus the clipboard. He looked over it, walking around Alec as he read, and Alec saw his family in the other room looking like three different forms of confused and slightly uncomfortable.

"So." Alec said, clearing the air and getting Magnus attention. "I'll see you this afternoon for pick up."

"Lucky me." Magnus winked again, and spun around to walk in the direction of his students. He didn't really pay attention his mother and his siblings trying to talk to him as they walked out, because before he had even reached the door his blush had returned.


	4. Chapter 4

The Institute felt so eerily quiet without the sound of light pitter patter from feet or the bubbly height of little laughter and giggles. Alec lay leaned back in his office chair, with his head angled up toward the bumpy brown ceiling that hung above him. He closed his eyes and opened them quickly again to enjoy the little white spots he could see from the speedy change in light exposure. Without his little girl around to keep him from doing his work, he really had nothing to keep him entertained anymore plus there was no real reason for him not to address the stack of Institute paperwork on his desk (even if he didn't really want to).

Alec, despite being quite shy and barely social (really only when he needed to be), he wasn't very keen on being alone. He hated the silence, and it wasn't as if he was easily bored, it just seemed easy to focus with someone else with him. The sound of their breathing, the little tap of their shoe as the other person's entertainment wore thin, the faint click of their tongue against their lip in thought.

The stack of paperwork lay unfinished for another ten minutes before Alec got frustrated and practically threw himself out of the chair. If he was going to be nonproductive about work, he was at least going to be productive about something else. He heard the muffled shuffles about the halls as he walked down it, wondering what everyone might be doing cooped up separately in the middle of the day. Certainly, they all must have something to be doing.

The little grunts and huffs coming from the training room told him he wouldn't be alone. He had hoped to work on his archery for a little bit, and he considering turning around to go back to his office but then remembered the stack of paperwork. Sitting there on his desk looking at him accusingly for not doing any of it, and decided whoever was training was just going to have to suck it up and deal because he was not facing that pile anytime soon.

Luckily enough of it was his brother, Jace, smacking around a practice dummy. His hands were taped up with white practice bandages and he clearly had been at it a while cause his hair was sticking up on either sides with sweat dripping from his forehead. Alec smiled, Jace looked so in his element here, he'd been off all day since Clary hadn't let him join her on a trip to Idris with her mother and Luke. They were talking about the wedding plans, and Clary was really just looking out for Jace because she knew he'd be bored, but Jace still got moody where his girlfriend wasn't around.

"Hey." Alec said, making himself known as Jace threw his head against the practice dummy, his breath uneven. He took a moment to catch it, letting his chest rise and fall, and with a big breath he turned to Alec.

"Bored?" Jace asked. Alec didn't find much time lately to make it the to the training room because of A. His daughter which is the most important thing in his life and B. Being the head of the Institute of course.

"Yeah." He replied, reaching up to take his shirt off. He wasn't in work out clothes necessarily, just an old pair of jeans, and a dress shirt but it wouldn't hurt to work in a sweat. Jace smiled, his grin lopsided from the clear exhaustion on his face, and if it had been anyone else Alec wold have asked before starting to spare with him. But it was just Jace after all.

The two fell into a rhythm of careful sparring, with there being more swinging than actual skin to skin contact. A couple of years ago, the two would be throwing themselves around the entire training room doing anything to get a hit on the other. But they were slightly older, Alec had Madzie now, and picking her up covered in bruises and a limp leg just wouldn't do. And Jace, well Jace had a Clary. Who wouldn't appreciate Jace all beat up when she got back, just because he was bored.

But they practiced. A go a few quick sneak attacks in, just to make the other still kept on their feat despite how in tune with each other they were. By the time a half an hour had passed Alec could tell that there was something else bothering his brother than his girlfriend being away. He just didn't know how to bring it up, and if Alec had to guess it was probably about the meeting with Magnus's assistant this morning, and Jace was very careful when it came to talking about Madzie.

"So, little bro, what's up?" Alec asked, and Jace lowered his head in a blush at the term 'little bro'. There was a time, when they were teenagers, that Alec would call him that all the time, more for his own benefit. Jace had been quick on his way to becoming the strongest, fastest, best Shadowhunter in the Institute, and 'little bro' was Alec's way of reminding him he was still order despite how good Jace had become.

"Magnus's assistant is a half breed." Jace said, as if it was some kind of confession. Alec reached over and handed him a towel, watching as Jace ran it over his face first, letting all the sweat soak up into the towel.

"All warlocks are." Alec reminded him, wiping over his right shoulder as a puddle of sweat had formed just over his Equilibrium rune. He leaned over on hi right foot, letting his body adjust slightly to the weight before inclining his head to look at the clock behind Jace. If he hopped in the shower soon, he could get one in before going to pick up Madzie.

"I meant, like half Shadowhunter. She's got runes, well just one." Jace said, turning around to follow Alec as he made his way back to his room.

"Been a while since we've had one of those." Alec said, not exactly paying attention to Jace as he followed him into his bedroom. Alec reached over to grab a towel to go into the shower and he leaned against his bed to reach down and take his shoes off.

"She doesn't like the Clave very much." Jace said, but Alec knew it was more along the lines of something like 'she probably doesn't like us very much'.

"Madzie's fine. Magnus is a warlock. So is Azalea. They won't make her feel unwelcome." Alec said, throwing his shoes toward the dark red laundry basket in the corner, they missed, and thudded against the floor in a one and a two rhythm.

"On a first name basis now, are we?" Jace smirked and Alec sighed, turning towards the direction of his personal bathroom. Jace laughed as Alec, slightly dramatically, slammed the door shut. He took his clothes off, and stepped into his shower.

It wasn't anymore than a few minutes before he was rudely interrupted by someone banging on the door. He considered not answering, standing there and pretending he couldn't hear over the water but the only people that came to his bedroom was Jace, Isabelle, and Madzie all of which who would only knock harder til he heard them.

"Yes?" Alec shouted back.

"Mr Lightwood." That voice was not from either Isabelle nor Jace, and Alec knew that neither of them would call him Mr Lightwood anyway. He turned the shower off, having at least shampooed and conditioned his hair, before throwing a towel on and walking over to the door.

Behind the door was Calen, the song of a Shadowhunter making his internship here in the Institute to hopefully work to get a job for the Clave. He had golden blonde hair, like Jace, but wasn't as attractive as Jace had been at his age. His eyes were too small, and his lips covered much more of the bottom of half of his face than most. But was quiet, mature, and helpful for a fourteen year old. He mostly spent his time as water boy for the older teenagers but he and his brother Dominic, who was but six or seven years older than him, had come to help Alec a lot as 'personal assistants' of sorts.

"Yes?" Alec asked again, propping the door open just a little bit so the boy couldn't see much anything else other than his face.

"You received a fire message from Magnus Bane and your brother intercepted it for you. He wishes to ask you a question at Madzie's school pick up time." Calen nodded, looking like he had more to say but deciding against actually saying it.

"Did Jace happen to say what that question might be?" Alec asked, and Calen looked a though Alec hit the nail on its head. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably, staring at the floor as he mumbled, and when Alec asked him to repeat himself Calen nervously scratched at the backside of his right shoulder.

"Jace says that's it's quite possible that Mr Bane wants to ask you on a date." Calen just barely loud enough for Alec to hear.

"Thank you for the message Calen." Alec said, clenching his teeth as he imagined all of the ways that he could torture Jace in his head. Calen turned around walking toward the door before he stopped and turned to face Alec again.

"I won't tell anyone about this, okay? Not even Dominic." And with that Calen walked out of the room before Alec could even reply. Alec got dressed, throwing on a dark brown sweater as the weather was a little chilly, and a pair of dark blue skinny jeans. He threw on his black lace up boots for good measure, never knew what you might step in in New York. Alec turned to look at the clock when he was done, and realized that in order to get there in time now that pick up time was almost done, he was going to have to portal. Not that he didn't like portaling, it' just ever since he was a kid the way of travel seemed to make him uneasy.

He followed his way down to the portal inside the Institute, forgoing the knock to Jace's skull that he thought of giving as he passed his bedroom, sand instead reached the glowing portal and thought of Magnus's classroom. Well, he could have thought of Magnus's classroom, that would have been the better option. Instead he was thinking of his daughter, and of Magnus. So that only made since that he landed right on top of the man.

Luckily no other parents or children had been around to see the over six foot Shadowhunter practically fall into the lap of the just below six foot warlock. Alec looked down at the man below him, he had a loopy smile on his face when he realized that it was Alec above him and probably not someone attacking him. Magnus's eyes were closed as well, which Alec really didn't ave time to think on, before he spoke.

"Really Mr Lightwood you have got to stop falling for me." Magnus's voice drawled out on the word 'falling' making Alec blush incessantly.

"Alexander." Alec replied quicker than he could think.

"What?" Magnus asked, looking up at him with a tilt if his head. Alec took a long look at his face before replying. His eyes were open now, small yellow slits that tore him away from the world around him as he studied the lines around them, probably from years of squinting at so many suns. The right side of his lips were pulled upward, with an amused overlay to them, it was more of a smirk then anything. His skin glowed, like the last light coming from the old lamp in a corner of a room just before midnight. Magnus was beautiful, and Alec couldn't keep his eyes off of him.

"That's my name. Alexand-" Alec cut himself off mid statement. "Well Alec for short."

"Yes, well, Alexander." The way Magnus said his name tuned Alec into his words rather than the mouth that was saying them. "Not that I mind an attractive man hovering over me. It's starting to be slightly painful."

Alec jumped backward, off of Magnus as if he had electrocuted him. To anyone else left, not that Alec could see any as he whipped his head back and forth, what had passed between the two had been just been a few seconds. Nothing more than half a minute really. But to them, especially to Alec, it felt like hours.

"So." Alec said quickly changing topics. "Where's Madzie?"

His daughter was the most important thing to him, so it was easy enough for him to ignore what jut happened and focus on her. Especially since he hadn't seen her for practically half the day, and it was like dependence. Without her around Alec couldn't be happy, she was his world.

"In my office with Azalea. Everyone else is long gone." Magnus said leading Alec to the room his family had been in just this morning.

"Oh by the Angel, was I that late?" Alec worried that Madzie had been here for forever, sitting all alone, wondering if her father was ever going to come back to get her.

"On the contrary, you were actually perfectly on time. To the second, probably." Magnus waved his right hand around as he talked, and Alec's eyes followed the movement for a second or two before the vigor in which the man talked with hand caused him to get slightly lightheaded. "Warlocks are always either terribly early or just past fashionably late."

"Luckily for me, everyone chose the first." Alec smirked, looking down to his feet. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Magnus stopped just before the door, clearly this was not a conversation he wanted to have with Alec's daughter around, or Magnus would have not locked his office door from the outside. He couldn't imagine what things could have gone wrong today that Magnus needed to have this conversation with him, but his head was trying.

"Alexander." Magnus looked up at him, meeting him eye to eye. "Your daughter is an exceptional warlock and I might say that at her age she may be just as powerful as some adult warlocks that I know."

Alec didn't need Magnus to tell him that, all of Madzie's life people had been telling him powerful she was. Whether they were just scared of her or not. "And?"

"Now the class she studied with today are kids about about ages 6-10, and though she is only 5, I'm sure she is by all means physically and emotionally capable of keeping up with them. Besides I wouldn't to put her in the younger group, because a warlock of her power should be learning powerful things. However-" Magnus stopped, didn't really continue until he took a breath.

His heart was racing for some reason, it thudded loud against his chest, the sound radiating all the way up to his ears. Because while Alec had spent his entire missing his little girl, Magnus had spent the entire day falling in love with her. The way her eyes lit up when she did a spell correctly quicker than anyone else in her class, that natural rewarded competitiveness must of come from being raised around Shadowhunters. The way her curls bounced when she laughed at another student, not in mockery just simple enjoyment. The way she shyly asked another boy to sit with her during snack time. Magnus could see so much of the father that he had only really known for a couple of hours in her, but also her own small independent self that shined a way into Magnus's heart more than any other student in the class.

"She's behind in her control skill set. That could be very well due to the household she was raised in before you got custody or just the lack of structured development of her skills. Now Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays we have class for the older kids, which I would like Madzie to stay with. I have class with the littler ones in the mornings on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Now I would like to meet Madzie twice during the second half of the week to work with her independently and you're more than welcome to come to those and stay since I'd shouldn't need her for more than two hours or so. That is of course if you'd like to do this." Magnus was rambling, his hands were flapping about, and all though Alec was listening to what he was saying, because it was about Madzie, he felt himself drifting. Madzie had been all he normally needed to focus his attention on something, but he was watching the way Magnus talked about Madzie. Like he was careful about saying the wrong thing.

"I'll do anything to help Madzie be the best she can be." Alec agreed, and Magnus smiled, his nerves resting as his flirty side took over at seeing that little proud dad glint in Alec's eyes.

"There's the Shadowhunter I know." Magnus reached behind him to unlock the door of his offcie as he found Azalea was leaned up against the door with Madzie in her lap as they played with some kind of toy. Azalea fell backwards onto the ground as the support of the door was no longer on her back, and Madzie fell forward onto Azalea's stomach.

"Why hello." Azalea smiled looking up at Magnus who shook his head in amusement.

"Daddy!" Madzie shouted, stepping on Azalea's leg in the process of running over to Alec and hugging his knees. Azalea muffled a groan but took the hand that Magnus offered, pulling herself up to her feet.

"Hey kiddo! How was school?" Alec said and Madzie started to ramble on with something and Alec started getting lost in the spew of spell names and kid names. "Sweetheart, slow down. Why don't we say goodbye to Mr Bane and Miss-"

Alec didn't exactly know Azalea's full name. "Zaley. That's what the kids call me."

"Bye." Madzie says, turning to walk away.

"Hey!" Magnus calls after her. "No high five?"

Madzie nods as if she forgot, and then turned back to smack her hand against Magnus's as he leaned over at the waist to reach her. She turned to Azalea offering a high five as well, but Azalea instead held out her fist for a fist bump.

"So." Alec said turning to Magnus. "Thursday and Saturday afternoons work for you?"

"Perfect." Magnus smiled.

"Well then we'll let you guys get back to your day." Alec said, holding his hand out and on instinct Madzie reached up and grabbed it. He smiled, feeling better now that that small weight returned to his side like he had missing it the whole day. Which he had.

"It's a pleasure, Alexander." Magnus said, his head flicking a little bit as he nodded at the two who sauntered out his door and onto the streets.

"Alexander, eh?" Azalea said as the door closed behind them.

"So." Magnus said, ignoring her completely. "Pizza for dinner?"


	5. Chapter 5

The light airy song playing in the background was low enough to not bother any of three beings in the apartment, but it was loud enough to hum along to and not lose your place. As Azalea passed into the living room, a white mug clenched in between her hands, she hummed along with the higher male voice on the track. The only way she could possibly describe the voice was the feeling of fiddling with rubber in between your fingers, satisfying with a little bit of an odd texture to it. Whoever was singing probably had an interesting nose, she couldn't quite tell if it were big or odd shaped, but it was irregular somehow just in the way his voice traveled. If she was speaking out loud, she'd be sure that Magnus would be judging her. Magnus never thought that much on music, considering most people didn't, but it was just one of those things that she found interesting. Just how much you could guess about a person based on their voice, little quirks that seemed to come up here and then like you could tell whether the singer's cheekbones were high or not based on how chipper their voice sounded.

As the crescendo of the final verse ended, Azalea relaxed against the cough facing the windows. Chairman Meow patted through, climbing up next to her, resting a paw on her knee and purred. It took her a while to get used to the cat when she first moved in with Magnus, but now. He was probably her closest confidant besides Magnus himself.

"Is Mags up yet?" She asked, technically to the cat but if Magnus happened to answer it wouldn't be a surprise.

As if on cue, Magnus came whirling out of his bedroom like a tornado looking utterly disheveled. His shirt was barely buttoned, and by barely she recognized that he had at least buttoned the wrong one twice. His hair was sticking up in several places, and not in the normal carefully styled enough to look like he could have adorably rolled out of bed, but more like a hobo who hasn't showered. His belt was hanging off some of the loops, knocking against the side of his leg with a clink sound as he walked. He had one shoe on his foot, and the other was in his hand. The only thing in tack was his makeup and Azalea was pretty sure it was yesterday's anyway.

"Mags, class isn't for another hour." Azalea laughed at his lack of put togetherness. Chairman Meow purred in agreement next to her, and she patted his head in a 'that's my boy' kind of way.

"I was supposed to meet with a client this morning. Remember?" His shook his head in an exasperated way that kind of made his eyes look a little crazy.

"What I remember is The Gaglianos' calling last night to tell you that they've handled it and don't need you this morning." Azalea said, and Magnus groaned. All of his rushing for nothing, he mumbled to himself as he dragged backward to lay face up on the futon across from Azalea. "One too many, last night, Mags?"

"No. I never drink more than half a glass on school nights, you know that." Magnus mumbled into the skin of his arm as he threw it over towards his head dramatically. His closed his eyes, letting the hand by his head run through his hair once as if to tug pathetically at the follicles. He stayed like that for a moment with his black hair wrapped around his fingertips.

"Say." Azalea said, tossing over a small throw pillow at him. The thud as it hit his chest being the only sound in the room for a moment before he grunted and she laughed. "You know what day it is, right?"

"Half a glass!" Magnus said, yanking himself up and whipping his head to face her.

"I meant!" Azalea said, cutting him off as she stood up off the couch and Chairman Meow skidded off towards the kitchen where his food dish was. Now that Magnus thought about it, he might head to his own food bowl. "You realize Madzie's coming this afternoon?"

"Realize? I haven't been able to stop thinking about it!" At the mention of food, Magnus' stomach growled and he decided that breakfast was probably a good idea. He padded off towards the kitchen, going through the list of what he had in his head while halfway through the trip he kicked off the shoe that remained on him to the side of a bookshelf. The thud caused the Chairman to look in it's direction, like the noise offended him somehow, before returning to his water.

"Shadowhunter got your tongue?" Azalea's playful tone something reserved for Magnus and the Chairman. She was friendly with the kids, stern if not reserved with the parents, and most everyone else she tended to avoid. The easy smile that held her face now was one that not many got to see, if Magnus wasn't too busy death glaring at her from the kitchen he would have appreciated it.

In all reality, he had been thinking about Mr-Alec. Mr. Alec, god he needed to get his head together before this afternoon or he was going to jst pop himself out of existence. Azalea would take care of the place, feed the Chairman, no one but his students would notice his disappearance. Thinking on his students, led him back to his original train of thought. While he had been thinking about the father with the hazel brown eyes and the clumsy nature, he had more so been thinking about the student. The bright smile that Magnus had grown attached to in no more than three days, doing everything in his power to get that smile to stay on for as long as he could. The energy he could feel radiating off her, not just her magic, but something about her personality just grabbed onto him and hasn't let him go since. Madzie was a brilliant little warlock and more time spent with her, helping her improve, was time well spent.

As a slower, sweeter, more love ballad like song started Azalea stopped midway to appreciate the soft trill of the flutes in the instrumental introduction. Magnus watched her, closing her eyes as the female lead's voice came in, soft and surrounding you like a blanket of sound with a sweet overtone. She had been that little warlock years ago, one that had pulled him in by his heartstrings and had yet to let him go all these years later. Another smile broke out on her face now, one of content as she spoke to him just above a whisper.

"This is where he realizes he loves her." She said, her fingers dancing with the tune of the melody as she imagines the scene play out in front of her closed eyes. The woman's head was turned, the man starring from across the stage with that look in his eyes. The look you could recognize from any play, movie, or tv show. The look they all use.

"Hey." He said, light as not to wake her from her utterly relaxed daydream. Her eyes were wider when she opened them. Taking in the man in front of her as he handed her a plate of eggs. Magnus sat down opposite of her, tapping the fork against his own plate to eat. "Do you want to stay home and clean up for this afternoon?"

"Sure." She mumbled, her mouth stuffed with food. They ate in comfortable silence, the hue of the music settling around them like it was keeping them there. Just a small little family of two, three if you counted the Chairman sat a top of the counter after he had finished eating himself. Just as the first song Magnus heard came on, he looked over at the clock on the dark red brick wall adjacent to them.

"Duty calls." He said, turning to collect what small books and potion ingredients he might need today as he stopped at the door Azalea called after him.

"Magnus! Shoe!" She said, waving the other shoe in her hand as she walked toward him. He laughed, took it from her and slid it over his foot. Meanwhile she was adjusting the buttons on his shirt, and when they both agreed that Magnus was put together enough to leave, he did.

Alec thought on the fact that he had never been so nervous about a knock before. He could stand outside Magnus's apartment and wait for the man to come and check for them but that seemed a bit ridiculous. Then again the very fact that Alec and Madzie had been standing here for almost ten minutes and Alec hadn't knocked already, was also a bit ridiculous.

Finally, after about another minute of Alec sat there with his hand hovering over the door, Madzie got exasperated with her father and pushed him against the door. He couldn't be knocked down very easily, except for his two left feet, but he had been caught of guard and he was throwing his arms out in front of them. One of them smacked against the door, welp there was his knock, and the other was leaning against the wall next to the door.

And as if Magnus had been waiting on the other side, the door swung open and the man smiled up at the slightly winded Shadowhunter leaning against the frame of his front door. "Why, hello!"

"Hi Magnus." Madzie said, pushing past her father, reaching her hand out to high five Magnus as she passed him making herself right at home inside her teacher's apartment. If Alec had been any less distracted he would have called after her and reminder her of her manners as a Lightwood, but Magnus just stood there, not phased, and smiling up at him.

"Please come in." He said playfully, and Alec nodded following after Madzie as she plopped down on one of the couches next to Azalea. Chairman Meow settled himself up next to her and as Magnus closed the door he and Alec stood next to one another in the living as Magnus addressed Madzie.

Once again, as soon as they started, Alec fell into a little bit of a daze. This time, Azalea was here and Alec sat on the couch watching the three of them, huddled in a little circle. Tints of gold, blue, and green muddled together like a small galaxy where Azalea, Magnus, and Madzie were the only three planets and they all revolved around one another. No sun in the middle to keep them separated, the three warlocks opened their eyes looking refreshed and a smile formed on each of their faces. As Magnus began to talk, Azalea removed herself from the circle and headed around the couch to lean down next to him.

"Madzie's favorite juice?" She whispered, not wanting to draw focus away from Magnus' lesson.

"Apple." Alec replied, still watching as his daughter stared down Magnus, intent on taking in every word the older warlock said as if it were her own Accords.

"And for you?" She asked, her feet already moving in direction of the kitchen before the question left her lips.

"Coffee please." He replied.

About ten minutes later, Magnus and Madzie had finished, and Azalea had returned from the kitchen. She held a tray with four mugs. She handed the smallest one to Madzie, and Alec watched her smile up and mumble a thank you. His own mug was a dark blue, and the coffee cleared his head a little bit, the fogginess slowly dissipating with every whiff of the nearly black coffee that came through his nose. Both Magnus and Azalea had tea, you could tell from the little string that came out of the side of each of their cups.

As they drank, small chit chat fizzled in and out mostly about the state of some of the Downworlders Alec and the two warlocks seemed to know in common. Raphael, the Head of the NY Clan, was most of the talk. Maia, part of Luke's clan, was also a point as well apparently the only place Azalea went besides the school was the Hunter's Moon. Joking about being immortally an alcoholic gave Alec that little huff through his nose and Madzie laughed only because she saw everyone else do it.

By the time the two had to return to the Institute Alec was sure that he could get used to days like this. Watching warlocks, and then having coffee and tea. And juice. As he floated through the Institute, he was light on his feet while his daughter kind of slugged with young exhaustion. He put her off to bed, and then made his way to his sister's room. The door was open, she was laid out on her bed with Simon next to her. The two's legs crossed over one another's as their hands held either side of some toy that Simon was showing her. Jace was sat in the chair in the corner, tossing his stele up and down when he noticed Alec come in.

"How was Madzie's first lesson?" Jace asked, and Alec smiled tilting his head down to his shoes. He thought about mumbling, letting his siblings pry it out of him but in all reality he was excited to tell them about how comfortable the whole thing felt.

"Good." Alec replied.

"What's got you all smiles?" Izzy asked, sitting up looking at her brother.

"Nothing." He said, running his top set of teeth over his bottom lip before turning to leave, intent on fulfilling the conversation.

"Nothing is always something eventually, Alec." Simon said, and Alec turned around frankly surprised that the vampire had felt the need to talk to him. Not that he had a particular distaste for Simon anymore (really he gave it up for his sister), the two just didn't normally address each other in conversation unless they were talking about Madzie or politics.

Alec ran the statement over in his head once before, turning back to walk out the door. He walked all the way to his bedroom, didn't even check in with the pile of paperwork that he had only made a small dent in, and headed to his bedroom. As he closed his eyes, and sleep warmed him, he dreamed of galaxies.


	6. Chapter 6

The fog that settled in over the city was not one that Alec had seen before, especially in this warm of weather. The thickness covered over the top of the grass in the middle of Central Park like a two foot high blanket of fog. You could barely see through it, and as he passed through it Alec could almost feel it clinging to his skin like it was keeping him from moving forward.

If Alec hadn't agreed to accompany his sister on patrol, then he would not have been out in the fog. Rarely did he go out on patrol anymore, especially with Madzie around but today she had been exhausted from practicing the stuff she learned at yesterday's training session with Magnus. When she exerts her magic that much in one day it usually knocks her out pretty hard, so she might still be sleeping soundly by the time he got back.

"Alec, I think it's this way." Isabelle said, pointing in the direction of an alleyway that he didn't exactly recognize. They weren't really patrolling, as much as they were tracking down a mundane attack that happened earlier. No one died, but from what it sounded like it was magic of some kind as the mundane was severely injured.

Alec reached back, holding an arrow in between his hands and held it out towards the alleyway. As they got closer they could hear whispered voices, and he set the arrow is his bow, ready to pull back and shoot at any moment. As Isabelle got closer, the voices seemed more frantic and she withdrew her whip.

"I thought you put wards up." One of the voices said, it sounded young, familiar almost.

"I did." The other voice was deeper, it didn't say much it was clearly concentrated on something as the first voice went quiet. Wards, Alec thought, warlocks must be. But what would warlocks being doing hiding in an alleyway at this time of night?

"Show yourselves warlocks." Isabelle said, the alleyway was empty, some kind of glamour must have been set so that they'd look less suspicious. A groan sounded through them, then the glamour dropped rippling before revealing Magnus and Azalea standing in the alleyway.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, lowering his bow to the side.

"Alexander, Isabelle. How nice to see you again." Magnus smiled, his charm was worming it's way around Alec before Magnus even finished saying Alec's name. Isabelle stepped closer, loosening her grip on her whip but not yet putting it down.

"What are you two doing here?" Isabelle asked.

"Don't you have class in the morning?" Alec asked and all eyes turned to him as if that had been the wrong question to ask. He blushed turning his head before remembering they were on patrol and he had just caught these two acting shady in an alleyway. The same alleyway that a mundane had been ambushed in earlier today. Magnus stood back and crossed his arms over his chest as Alec raised his bow up again, not face level but enough to be prepared if this were to go south.

"Magnus and I were investigating the crime scene." Azalea answered, as if that hadn't made them seem even more suspicious.

"How do you know about that?" Isabelle asked, getting more weary at the situation. She liked Magnus, and the fact that he was Madzie's teacher and Alec seemed to get on well with him was the reason she was not being forceful with him. But Isabelle didn't like having to fight for her answers.

"Look. We're here because earlier my friend Elias was attacked by a mundane." Magnus said, swooping his jacket as he crossed in front of Azalea to get closer to them. Something Magnus did when whatever he was saying was important, Alec had noticed.

"Why would a mundane attack a warlock? Isn't that like a suicide mission?" Alec asked, moving closer to his sister, and in turn Magnus.

His sister seemed less tense now that she was actually getting information but more uncertain based on what Magnus had said. Magnus on the other hand, looked distressed. His hair looked like it had been tugged on, and his eyes sagged with only a thin line of eyeliner on them Alec realized he hadn't seen Magnus without eye shadow before now. Granted he'd only known him for about a week, but still, it was captivating.

"Elias was seeing a mundane, despite me advising him against her. Love, he had called it. Once Elias believed the mundane loved him in return, he started testing the waters. To see what might happen if Elias told him about being a warlock. Instead of talking, Elias just gave him little bits of magic here and their during their more intimate moments." Magnus said, his eyes fixated on the ground as if the information was still fresh on his own tongue, like he hadn't known it for very long.

"But that's against the Accords." Alec supplied.

"Elias isn't the type of man who cares. But Elias soon realized that his mundane didn't love him, but he instead had become infatuated with the magic Elias was giving him in small doses. Elias broke things off, but his mundane was still so attached to what they both thought was Elias, but turned out to be Elias' magic instead. He caused a confrontation here in this alleyway, and attacked Elias. Elias panicked, wrapped up in his emotions, and attacked back but fled before the mundane could respond. He asked us earlier to come here and see if they were all right, but the mundane was gone and we've been tracking him ever since." Azalea said.

"The mundane's at the Institute. Healing." Alec said, and a look of relief crossed both of their faces, maybe not so much for the mundane but their friend's feelings . "Wait, you can get addicted to magic?"

"Most humans can. In small enough doses, it won't kill them, it'll merely act like a nonfatal recreational drug, like Cannabis." Magnus said, his hands moving at his waist and Alec cracked a bit of a smile, the motion familiar to him.

At this point Isabelle returned her whip to her arm, and Magnus' shoulders visibly relaxed. She stepped closer to Magnus, reaching a hand out to put on his shoulder, the action friendly more than threatening. "Your friend Elias should come to us to fill out a report."

"He won't do that. He'll convict himself of going against the Accords, we won't let him do that." Azalea said, moving towards Isabelle. They all took up a small part of the alleyway, Azalea was standing near the left side of the wall with Magnus about a half a foot away from her, while Izzy stood next to Magnus with her hand on his shoulder. Alec stood behind his sister, as he returned his arrow to the pouch on his back and let the bow wrap around his shoulders.

"So we leave that part out." Alec said, and Isabelle turned around to face him.

"Alec." She warned.

"Keep the relationship in. Cause if the mundane remembers anything, which sometimes they do after an attack like that, they'll mention it. The mundane didn't know about the magic til the attack, so when the Clave asks why Elias tried to break it off, he'll say he just didn't feel right about lying to him about being a warlock." Alec said, and two eyebrows were raised at him. Azalea's right one, and his sister's left one. Magnus, however, looked at him with the mixture of a smile and a smirk. Which in turn made Alec feel very flustered and pretty confused.

"Why would you want to help a warlock?" Magnus asked, and Alec couldn't tell if he was falling into a trap question or not.

"It seems like he just wanted to love somebody. And that's tough for all of us, so I can't really convict somebody for that." Alec shrugged, hoping the answer would suffice.

"Well you can. It's in the Accords." Magnus replied, and Alec was confused again. Or still. Well most of his life had been spent in determined confusion, so he figured still would be the best option.

"Mags, remember we're trying to help Elias." Azalea teased.

"I just meant," Magnus paused taking a moment to look Alec in the eyes. "You haven't convicted him. Or at least you don't want to. I appreciate that, Alexander."

"Let's just hope Elias does." Isabelle chimed in, picking at the tip of her fingernail, once the danger of the situation had been cleared she kind of hopped out of the conversation there for a moment.

"He will." Magnus stated.

"So," Azalea said, leaning backwards as she tugged Magnus on the shoulder and started to pull him away. "Now that we know the mundanes okay, we really should get going."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Alexander." Magnus smiled.

"Tomorrow?" Isabelle asked, playfully nudging her older brother's shoulder. Focusing his attention on Magnus' smile he could feel it inching him towards the retreating warlock, and his sister knocking into him only threw off his balance so he stumbled towards the wall of a the building that made the alleyway.

"For Madzie's tutoring session. Yes. But, I'll probably call you before then." This time he earned three eyes brows and one smirk from Magnus. "To talk about the addiction to Magnus-magic thing."

"Right." His sister mouthed at him.

"As the big Head of the Institute, I should know about this." Alec said, sending a warning glare to his sister as if to 'don't you dare say another word'.

"Well, don't let all that power go to your-" Azalea paused for comedic effect, but before she could finish Magnus held his hand up and interrupted her.

"If you finish that, I will run myself through this wall." Magnus said, and Alec laughed. His chest shook from the sound, and when he looked back up at Magnus the older man was laughing along silently as well.

"Hey you know what they say about big heads?" Azalea said, holding her arms out but Magnus instead, summoned a patrol at the end of the alleyway and started pulling her toward it by one of her arms.

"Big hats." Magnus said, before turning his head over his shoulder as they walked away. "See you Alexander. Have a good night."

And before Alec could reply, the two Warlocks stepped through the portal, and it disappeared with them. Alec turned to his sister and shrugged before walking back in the direction of the Institute. It took a moment for her brain to catch up, but she quickly caught up with him physically as he sped walk through the streets of New York.

"What was that?" Isabelle asked.

"Magnus Bane." Alec replied. "Oh and Azalea."

Isabelle smacked his shoulder, and he shot her a glare before reaching his hand up to rub the muscle underneath his shirt. "I meant, what was up with you and Magnus?"

"Nothing. We're just talking. Like friends do." Alec said, speeding up even more as he turned a corner hoping to avoid the conversation.

"Friends don't talk like that. That was flirting." Isabelle said.

"Was not." Alec shrugged.

"He was definitely flirting with you." Isabelle said, and Alec bit his lip turning the other way so she couldn't see the blush forming over him. "Oh my angel, Alec, were you flirting with him?"

"Will you stop talking about him like that, he's Madzie's teacher." Alec said.

"Talking about him like what?" Isabelle asked, stopping Alec by putting her hand on his shoulder and pulling him towards her.

"Like he's someone that I can even do that with. He's Madzie's teacher." Alec took a breath out, turning away from his sister again to spot the Institute, just about fifty feet from them to point at. "Look, the Institute's right there. Race you."

"We're not done talking about this Alec." Isabelle said with a stern tone to her voice but Alec could tell from her eyes she just wanted to get home to her warm bed, and kick his ass in this race.

"Loser buys take out." Alec bribed, food always got Izzy.

"Hope you have your money saved up then." Izzy replied and took off towards the Institute. Alec screamed something about her being a cheater as he chased after his sister. The cold air scratching against the side of his face, his ears stinging from the cold breeze as his nose felt like solid bone. A laugh came out of his mouth, as Isabelle stumbled on the steps and he flew past her into the front doors screaming victory.


	7. Chapter 7

Alec stood with his phone in his hand, nervously flipping it from one hand to the other before a knock at the door caused him to anxiously drop it on the floor. "Shit."

He heard the sound of laughter come through the door while he bent over to pick up the phone from the ground. Thankfully, it wasn't broken, and he couldn't really see any cracks but knowing his luck there probably was one. He reached over and set the phone on his desk while he noticed Jace standing at the door with a smile stretched across his face.

"Waiting for someone to call?" Jace asked, and Alec bounced off the ground. Despite noticing his presence, Alec was very distracted to even register his brother talking to him. This, of course, made Jace even more amused to which he teasingly patted Alec's back.

"You okay?" Jace asked.

"Yes." Alec nodded, looking back down at the phone on the desk before taking it in his hand again and turning to flash Jace a fake smile. "Yeah."

"Dude, just ask him out already." Jace shrugged, reaching over to grab at Alec's phone but Alec pulls it backwards letting Jace stumble a bit. After his brother caught his balance, Alec clutched the phone tightly to his chest before whipping around to look at the floor.

"Why do you all keep saying stuff like that?" Alec hissed, letting his middle finger stroke over the home button of his phone. As the lock screen disappeared, the light reflected onto Alec's dark grey sweater where the name last on his screen appeared. M. Bane.

"Because we all see the way he makes you. No one makes you that happy, dude." Jace set his hand on his brother's shoulder as Alec titled his head upwards feeling the blush form over him. "Hell, no one makes you feel at all except Madzie."

"You guys make me feel things." Alec mumbled.

"Family love, and love love are different things, Alec." Jace smiled, setting his hand on Alec's cheek momentarily to distract him and as Alec followed Jace's hand he took the opportunity to rip the phone out of Alec's hands. Alec snapped back quickly, reaching toward it as he tried to get it back from Jace, Jace dialed the number on the screen.

The phone started to ring and Jace pressed it up against Alec's ear and started to walk away. The phone nearly dropped again, but Alec caught it in his hand just as a voice came from the other line. "Alexander?"

"Mis-Magnus. Hi." Alec mumbled, fiddling with a loose string on his shirt as he spoke.

"Mister Magnus, come on Alexander. Not even the kids call me that." There was a laugh in there, definitely. A chuckle that came from the back of his throat, as his voice came through the line deep and slow.

"Sorry." Alec said, turning to look at one of the paintings of an old Head of Institute that hung on the wall. Had they always looked as stuffy and boring, with the same old tired eyes and wrinkles? Would Alec's face sag as well?

"Don't be. It's such a pleasure to hear from you." Alec couldn't tell but Magnus was looking down at his watch, only a couple of hours til Madzie's appointment. When Alec had told him the night before that he'd call him, Magnus didn't necessarily think he'd meant it. So of course at seeing the name pop up on screen, he smiled.

"Yes, well that depends on how you take what I have to say next." He paused, waiting for a sound coming from the other line but when it didn't, he continued. "I was going to ask if you could come to the Institute today for Madzie's session."

"The Institute?" Magnus asked, and Alec tried to read any kind of emotion in the man's voice, but then again Magnus was very good at putting on a show. No matter what he was feeling, or just to entertain. Magnus did seem to like to entertain people, whether it be through his dramatic entrances or graceful movements about a room.

"Yes. Not only have I been avoiding a stack of paperwork since last week, I wanna talk to you a little more about yesterday." Alec lowered his head, blushing a little as he thought about the night before. "Plus, I would like to make sure Madzie understands that she should feel comfortable practicing magic at home, with supervision of course."

"Well, for Madzie of course." Magnus said. Alec could almost envision Magus sweeping across the room his clothes following like a shadow barely keeping up with him. Everything felt lighter when Magnus was in a room, almost like it was all dancing in front of your eyes. "But I suppose the paperwork that probably should be done soon in order for you to keep your job, can be considered a bonus."

"Thanks Magnus, I'll owe you one." Alec smiled, even though the other man couldn't see it.

"I'll take my payment in clothes, alcohol, or coffee." Magnus said, and Alec laughed. Well it was more of a breath out your nose kind of laugh than anything, but Magnus continued. "Or all three, although those threw tell a story of something else."

"Good to know. I will see you later, Magnus." Alec said, shaking his head as images of a one night stand went with Magnus. He imagined it lasted longer than one night, and that Alec wouldn't be standing for very long. As his train of thought led Alec to somewhere he wasn't comfortable with going while he was on the phone with Magnus, he figured ending the conversation would be best for both parts.

"Shall we play 'You Hang Up First', or are you going to be a gentleman?" It was like Alec could feel the air dance around like Magnus was there , talking with a twirl of his wrist and smirking at Alec.

"I'm hanging up now, Magnus." As Alec hung up the phone he could hear another one of Magnus's laughs just beginning to ring in his ear.

Alec sighed, shaking his head as he set the phone down on his desk. He stared at it for a couple minutes, like he expected it to ring again or something. Just a couple of moments passed and he watched the phone vibrate as his 3:00 alarm went off. That was the time he had set for Madzie to meet him, so they could be at Magnus's at 4. He debate going to her room to meet her and tell him about Magnus coming here, but settled on waiting here for her.

Madzie sat in her bedroom staring at the pile of stuffed animals, watching them as f to see the slightest movement. She was trying to make them move, she was very concentrated on making them move. She forgot how long she had been sat there, maybe a hour or two. After all, she wasn't even five yet she couldn't possibly figure it out time yet. She's a warlock, not a super genius.

Her room was very her. Or at least that's what her dad said, she doesn't really understand what that means yet but it sounded nice. The walls were a dark blue, at nighttime it looked like the stars were above her with the little white dots her dad had painted on the ceiling. Her dad did a lot of things for her, and she always loved everything he gave her. Including her teachers.

Magnus was the best, after all he'd helped her figure out how to control her magic, even if he says she's not quite done growing yet. It was a little weird how he kept referring to trees, and she doesn't always understand what he says, but other than that it's awesome. He's not a Shadowhunter, like her dad, he's a warlock like her. She sees him a lot, and she likes hanging out with Azalea.

She opened her eyes again and her stuffed Frog, Saly (cause she couldn't quite pronounce the 'c' sound it scaly), was floating in front of her. She smiled, reaching her hands out for the frog and she looked down. Her hands were surrounded by a golden glow, and she laughed causing the glow to travel up her arms until she felt something warm press against her cheek. This, was what was the best part about magic, she felt like she was getting a hug every time she used it. For some reason, magic used to be cold to hear and it would hurt. This didn't hurt at all.

Then something in the room dinged, she believed it to be the alarm clock that her dad put in for her even though she didn't quite know what an alarm clock was. She looked up at the big clock on the wall, not understanding why but she knew that when the little black lines looked like a L she was supposed to head to her dad's room. She stood up, concentrating on letting the frog down easily, but ultimately it just plopped on the ground with a thump.

She shrugged, walking out the door and closing it behind her. She headed for her dad's room, only stopping or a moment to talk to Jace as he was walking back from that direction. Uncle Jace was funny, and they liked to watch movies together.

"Madzie." She heard her father call as she stepped in the room. She made a sound of acknowledged as she closed the door, stopping just in front of it with her hands folded in front of her.

"You don't mind Magnus coming here do you?" Her father asked. Madzie smiled, she might get to show Magnus her room, she didn't have very many things because too much stuff made it feel small, but she was sure he'd love it. Her and Azalea could read some of the books she had stocked away on the shelf that Madzie's grandfather had made for her.

Her father must have taken her reaction as a yes and he continued. "So it's up to you what we do while we wait for him to arrive."

This, Madzie didn't like as much. It wasn't that she didn't like talking,she did it quite a lot lately, sometimes it just felt easier not to. Her dad never pushed her to talk, either, so that made it easier to do it on her own. But she wasn't very good at decisions, and her dad only ever makes her do small stuff but she didn't want to be wrong.

"Could we-" Her voice was small, and she sounded a little nervous (which she was, after all Magnus was coming here), but excited. "Fight?"

Her dad called it something else, but sometimes they went to this big room with Uncle Jace or Aunt Izzy (even sometimes Clary) and they'd hit each other with stuff. Madzie only ever used her magic or her hands cause she was much too little for anything else, but when her dad went against other people he uses weapons.

Her dad smiled and took her down to the big room where Uncle Jace and Simon were hitting each other with long sticks. Her dad watched for a minute before Uncle Jace called Simon to a stop and angled his head towards Madzie and her dad waiting patiently at the side.

"Hey dude. Wanna go a round?" Simon asked, the sweat dripping off his forehead. If Madzie wanted to, she would have mentioned that the better option might be a shower.

"Actually Simon, Madzie and I are just here to kill some time." Alec held his arm out, keeping the sweaty vampire at a good distance from them.

"Can I-" Madzie said pulling on her dad's leg, catching his attention. He looked down at her, a patient smile across his face, before watching her point in the direction of Uncle Jace.

"You want to practice with Uncle Jace?" Alec asked, his smile widening a little bit as Madzie mumbled a 'please'. Alec nodded, patting her back as she skipped away towards the other end of the room.

"Ready to go Lightwood?" Simon asked, dropping the stick to the side as he held his arms up in front of his face.

Alec laughed, mimicking Simon's stance but with a little more finesse and a lot more technique. "Let's go Lewis."

Magnus stood at the front entrance of the Institute watching busy Shadowhunters pass by in front of him without a care towards the two warlocks at the door. Azalea stood on her phone, not unusual for her to be doing, but Magnus was trying to just patiently wait for someone to approach them and give them the direction to head in.

Thankfully a familiar spot of dark hair, red lipstick, and beaming smile came towards them as her heels clicked against the floor underneath her. "Magnus!"

"Isabelle!" He said, accepting the hug she offered. Thankful for the cool demeanor she offered now, as opposed to the oddly stand-offish one last night.

"Apologies for last night darling, I had the longest day." Isabelle said, ask and you shall receive Magnus always said.

"No worries, dear." He smiled in return.

"What can I help you two with?" Isabelle asked, nodding towards Azalea whose head was stuck in her phone. For anyone else, it would have seemed weird for two people to constantly be at each other's sides but for Magnus and Azalea it just seemed natural.

"We're looking for your brother." Azalea mumbled, engrossed in a mobile game of some sorts.

"Follow me." Isabelle smiled again, flashing them both. Magnus watched her lead them through the Institute almost to the back where Magnus could hear the sounds of sparring going on. Sure enough as they entered the weapons room, he got sight of Alec leaning over a familiar vampire laughing at something. The sight was, engaging to say the least.

Magnus's eyes trailed down the Shadowhunter's body, who had dismissed himself of a shirt apparently. Sweat clinging to hair and runes like, well, sweat. He stared for a good minute and a a half before licking his lips. "Okay, I'm back."

Alec must of heard his voice because the Shadowhunter, a bit out of breath and goofy as heck, looked up at them and smiled. "Magnus."

The vampire took Alec's momentarily distracted state to flip the Shadowhunter over, throwing Alec onto the ground. Alec made a gasp of some sorts that did wonders to Magnus's imagination as his head hit the ground his mouth made an 'O" of surprise that left nothing to imagination.

The vampire cheered in victory, before Alec pushed the vampire off of him and attempted to stand up. Frustrated, Alec kind of just jumped off his knees and landed on his feet with a bit of a wobble. Magnus smirked as Alec started to put on his shirt. "Oh, don't stop on account of me."

Alec blushed, before buttoning up his shirt again. "So, what are you in the mood for first? Lesson, or report?"

"Report. I'll probably just leave after the fun part anyway." Magnus smiled as Alec attempted to fix his collar. Seeing the hopelessness of that made Magnus pity Alec and he reached over and fixed it for him. Alec didn't breathe the whole twenty seconds Magnus's hands were on his shirt, and he didn't know whether that was a bad sign or not.

"Who said reports aren't fun?" Isabelle chimed in, cooling the tension.

"Everyone." Azalea mumbled in response. At the sound of fast and small footsteps she put her phone away to see Madzie running towards them. She had discarded the sweater she had on earlier, now standing in just a pink tank top and her leggings.

"Magnus!" Madzie cheered, hugging the man's legs. Azalea received one as well, and as Madzie pulled away Alec noticed the wide spread grin on her face. "You have to see my room."

Madzie pulled on Azalea's hand, tugging her in the direction of just that and Magnus turned to Alec with pleading eyes. Alec smiled, noting how the man resembled a puppy when it wanted a treat, before shrugging. "I guess the report can wait."

The two chased after their girls, and Alec happily chatted away with Magnus while Madzie rambled off a list of all her stuffed animals and their numbers. Yeah, Magnus thought to himself, the Institute wasn't so bad.


End file.
